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ConservationNEWS
Tagging Prehistoric Fish for Conservation
by Wes David
The province of British Columbia has thousands of kilometers of rivers and stream systems loaded with different freshwater fish species . However , swimming within the Frasier and Harrison River systems is the white sturgeon , a true living prehistoric fish species . The white sturgeon is the sixth oldest living fish species ever recorded . The first proof of sturgeon was recorded in fossil findings from Cretaceous age which scientists believe was over 70-million years ago . It ’ s believed that sturgeon survived the Ice Age by burrowing deep into the lake and river bottoms and laid dormant for millions of years . Once glaciers melted and water began to flow , sturgeon came out of their long hibernation and are still swimming within our waters today .
Prior to 1999 , there was only basic knowledge about the white sturgeon within BC ’ s river systems . In 1999 , the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society was formed to learn more about these prehistoric fish . A tagging program was implemented that would see every sturgeon caught within the Fraser and Harrison river tagged and released . The electronic tag provides biologists with a wealth of information each time the tagged sturgeon is recaptured . The recorded information such as date , length , location , and even the angler ’ s name who caught the sturgeon is forwarded to biologists . Over time , this information has helped biologists understand the sturgeon ’ s growth rate , spawning cycle , and movements throughout BC ’ s waterbodies . One of the most fragile findings of the white sturgeon is their spawning cycle . A male sturgeon doesn ’ t reach sexual maturity and spawn until he ’ s 20 years old . Females don ’ t spawn for the first time until they ’ re 25 years old , and it may be as many as 11 years before they spawn a second time .
It was determined the quickest way to tag large numbers of sturgeon to get usable data fast , was to get the fishing guides involved that fish both the Fraser and Harrison Rivers
daily . Tony , the owner of BC Sportfishing Group , was the first to get involved and has been tagging sturgeon on both river systems since the tagging program began .
BC Sportfishing Group employs 22-guides and each guide has been trained and carries the needed tagging equipment and scans or tags every sturgeon that ’ s caught and released on the rivers . To date , Tony ’ s company has tagged over 40 % of the more than 46,000 white sturgeon that have been tagged since the program began .
In Tony ’ s own words . “ Why wouldn ’ t I give back to a resource that I ’ m passionate about ”?
I had the good fortune of fishing with Tony in October , and being a part of the tagging program . During my two days of sturgeon fishing , we caught and released 16 sturgeon . Six were tagged for the first time and 10 were scanned and the data recorded . I even caught a sturgeon that former NHL great Owen Nolan caught and released .
Manitoba ’ s Channel Catfish
June 2013 , the province of Manitoba was introduced to an already ongoing channel catfish tagging program on the Red River . The tagging program originated in Nebraska , and shortly after included North Dakota , and now Manitoba , with the main tagging of catfish being focused on the portion of the Red River between Lockport and Lake Winnipeg .
Biologist from Canada and the United States say there is very little known about channel catfish . Using Hoop-Nets to catch the catfish , biologists have been tagging and releasing channel cats and gaining a better understanding of the catfish ’ s movements , age , spawning cycles , and growth rates . It ’ s already well understood that channel catfish are not the sluggish bottom-dwelling eaters that many believe . In fact , channel cats have proven to be one of the most well adapted and highly evolved predator fish swimming in our freshwaters . They have a very high tolerance for pollution and low oxygen levels . They do very well in waters dominated by other predator fish . And in laboratory experiments , channel cats always prove greater intelligence and memory than any other freshwater species . However , little else is known about this species outside of the laboratory .
Since the tagging program began , Canadian and U . S . biologists have been working together and encouraging anglers that catch tagged catfish to record the number and call it in . Reports have come in of channel cats being caught and tagged near Selkirk , MB , then caught a week later near Grand Forks ND . That means the fish traveled some 300 river miles and navigated two large dams using fish ladders to reach Grand Forks ND in seven days .
I recently returned from a guided fishing trip on the Red River with Cat Daddy Fishing Guide Service and during 16-hours of fishing we caught and released 75 channel cats all averaging 32 to 38 inches in length . However , we didn ’ t have the good fortune of catching a tagged catfish . I couldn ’ t help but think if the Manitoba Resources were to train the catfish guides that are on the Red River every day to tag and record the needed information similar to what ’ s being done in British Columbia with the sturgeon tagging program , on my trip alone , there would be 75 more tagged channel catfish swimming within the Red River just waiting to tell their secrets .
33 Wild Guide . Fall 2017